52-yr-old woman addicted to stealing silver caught

Around 18 kilograms of silver has been recovered from her residence at Senapati Bapat Marg in Matunga. According to police, the accused Rekha Wamurkar has been working as a clerk for a telecom company for 28 years. She is addicted to the act of stealing even though she belongs to a well-to-do middle-class family.

“Her two sons are employed in the share market and they earn well. Wamurkar herself is earning a decent package,” said Assistant Police Inspector Pandharinath Patil, Mulund police station. The incident came to light last morning when Wamurkar visited Mansi Jewellers to sell some silver jewellery.

As the owner Manojkumar Jain began inspecting the ornaments, he smelt a rat and asked his salesman to engage Wamurkar in conversation. Her behaviour appeared suspicious, so Jain informed the Mulund police station. “On reaching Mansi Jewellers, we questioned Wamurkar and recovered around 270 grams of silver ornaments that belonged to Jain from her purse,” Patil said.

During interrogation, Wamurkar confessed that she had stolen the ornaments from Jain’s shop a few days ago. Wamurkar was arrested on charges of theft. A team comprising constables Yuvraj Patil, Pradeep Kadam, Ashok Khilari and Sagar Jadhav was despatched to her Matunga residence for a search.

“We were stunned to find many utensils in her house filled with silver ornaments. The pot, cooking utensils and storage space underneath beds were also filled with jewellery,” Patil added. In all, over 18 kg of silver was recovered from her rented apartment.

“She has confessed of her involvement in a series of such cases and has been carrying out the crime so frequently that she has lost count of the number of thefts,” an officer from Mulund police station said. She will be produced in the local magistrate court today.